Heterogeneity of short-term memory deficits in children with dyslexia.

Many studies have highlighted short-term memory (STM) impairment in dyslexic individuals. Several studies showed deficits for both item and serial order aspects of verbal STM in dyslexic individuals. These group-based studies, however, do not inform us about the prevalence of these deficits and, importantly, their potential heterogeneity at the individual level. The present study examined both group-level and individual STM profiles in dyslexic and age-matched non-dyslexic children. While confirming previous group-based results of both item and serial order STM deficits, individual analyses indicated two distinct profiles: one profile was associated with verbal item STM and phonological impairment while another profile showed selective serial STM deficits in both verbal and visual domains. Our results highlight the need for practitioners to consider the heterogeneous nature of STM impairment in dyslexia and to adapt STM and reading treatment strategies accordingly.

Does reading anxiety impact on academic achievement in higher education students?

Poor readers have lower academic achievement and increased anxiety, including reading anxiety, which may perpetuate lower academic achievement. We explored reading anxiety in university students, investigating whether the association between reading ability and academic achievement is mediated by reading anxiety (independent of general anxiety). Participants were students (n = 169, 69% female, age = 20.70) at an Australian university who completed an online reading assessment (decoding skills, phonological awareness, orthographical knowledge and comprehension), and a survey examining reading anxiety, trait anxiety and self-reported reading history. Academic achievement was based on university grades. Two reading anxiety factors (social and non-social) were identified; both factors were distinct from trait anxiety. Reading ability was negatively correlated with reading anxiety and positively correlated with academic achievement. Reading anxiety was not correlated with academic achievement and it did not mediate the relationship between reading ability and academic achievement as expected. As this was the first study to explore reading anxiety in adults, further research is required to determine the impact reading anxiety may have on university students beyond academic achievement.

The learning experiences of dyslexic medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic: a phenomenological study.

Dyslexia is a Specific Learning Difficulty that impacts on reading and writing abilities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, medical schools have been forced to undertake distance learning and assessment. The wider literature suggested that e-learning might pose additional challenges for dyslexic students. Here we explore their overall experiences of learning/studying during this time in a phenomenological study. Five medical students were interviewed in depth and the audio-recordings were transcribed verbatim. Transcripts then underwent an interpretive phenomenological analysis. Our results highlighted a largely positive experience, with an improved culture of togetherness, freedom and sense of control. They also revealed issues with a lack of clinical exposure, potential negative impacts on ranking positions for those with dyslexia, and possible cheating in exams. There are some surprising results-in particular the positive responses to how remote learning was delivered. These seemed to put our participants more on a par with their non-dyslexic colleagues-except in some examinations. It is our hope that medical educators may resist a return to 'the way things have always been done' when the pandemic has resolved, and by doing so, continue to foster this new, positive culture and paradigm shift.

Links between organized visual search and reading ability in French primary school children.

Visual search skills develop substantially during the primary school years, and in parallel with children's reading achievement. Reading requires an efficient visual search and exposure to reading from the left to the right could also influence the way we explore space. No study, however, made links between visual search strategies and reading ability. In this study, 70 primary school children performed a cancellation task (Bells test) and reading tests. Our results showed that reading was closely linked to visual search accuracy but also to visual search organization, even after controlling for age for some measures. Along with the development of reading abilities, children made fewer revisitation, moved more to the nearest unmarked targets than to the farthest ones and explored more in lines. It appears, therefore, essential to take more into account the visual search organization of children with reading impairments such as dyslexia.

Students with dyslexia between school and university: Post-diploma choices and the reasons that determine them. An Italian study.

Although the number of students with dyslexia enrolled in Italian universities is constantly growing, their presence remains relatively limited. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate the choices made by students with dyslexia in relation to university studies, and the underlying reasons for their choices. This study also compares these choices for students with and without dyslexia. In all, 440 high school students and their families agreed to take part in this project. Socio-demographic data was collected for the 47 students with dyslexia and 47 class-matched students without dyslexia, along with information on their current schools and their future educational plans. A specially developed questionnaire was used for the students, in combination with structured interviews with their families. The results show significant differences between these groups regarding both choices for university studies and the underlying motivations for these choices. Furthermore, certain psychological and emotional factors are implicated here in the decisions of the students with dyslexia regarding both university studies and their underlying reasons. Future research is needed to further investigate these factors in the educational choices of students with dyslexia.

Prevalence of Reading Difficulties in 9- to 10-Year Old Children in Sweden Born With Cleft Palate.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of reading difficulties in children born with cleft palate at ages 9 and 10 in Sweden. DESIGN: Using a cross-sectional design, a parental questionnaire assessing dyslexia-like reading difficulties (Short Dyslexia Scale, SDS) was administered together with separate questions regarding background data. PARTICIPANTS: Families with a child born with overt cleft palate with or without cleft lip in 4 regions of Sweden. A total of 245 families were approached of which 138 families responded. Data from 136 (56%) were complete with information on cleft type and could be analyzed. RESULTS: Twenty-two percent (95% CI, 15-30) of the whole study group displayed risk for dyslexic reading difficulties on the SDS corresponding to the 7th to 10th percentiles in the population. Children with cleft palate only had a significantly higher prevalence of reading difficulties (37%) compared to children with unilateral cleft palate (19%) and bilateral cleft palate (10%). The frequency of reading difficulties in participants with comorbidity was 32%. Among a subgroup with reported comorbidity in areas of attention, language, and learning problems, there was a 2.5 times higher risk of reading disability compared to participants without this reported comorbidity. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of reading difficulties in the cleft palate population was higher than in the general population. Results showed that co-occurring difficulties were common in the cleft group and that reading difficulties often appear together with other, co-occurring neurodevelopmental difficulties.

Building a framework to understand and address vulnerability to reading difficulties among children in schools in the United States.

This paper presents a vulnerability framework as a means to contextualize inequities in reading achievement among children who are vulnerable to poor reading outcomes. Models to understand vulnerability have been applied in the social sciences and public health to identify population disparities and design interventions to improve outcomes. Vulnerability is multifaceted and governed by context. Using a vulnerability framework for the science of reading provides an innovative approach for acknowledging multilevel factors contributing to disparities. The ecological considerations of both individual differences in learners and conditions within and outside of schools ensures that scientific advances are realized for learners who are more vulnerable to experiencing reading difficulty in school.

Failure of resting-state frontal-occipital connectivity in linking visual perception with reading fluency in Chinese children with developmental dyslexia.

It is widely accepted that impairment in visual perception impedes children's reading development, and further studies have demonstrated significant enhancement in reading fluency after visual perceptual training. However, the mechanism of the neural linkage between visual perception and reading is unclear. The purpose of this study was to examine the intrinsic functional relationship between visual perception (indexed by the texture discrimination task,TDT) and reading ability (character reading and reading fluency) in Chinese children with developmental dyslexia (DD) and those with typical development (TD). The resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) between the primary visual cortex (V1, BA17) and the entire brain was analyzed. In addition, how RSFC maps are associated with TDT performance and reading ability in the DD and TD groups was examined. The results demonstrated that the strength of the RSFC between V1 and the left middle frontal gyrus (LMFG, BA9/BA46) was significantly correlated with both the threshold (SOA) of the TDT and reading fluency in TD children but not in DD children. Moreover, LMFG-V1 resting-state connectivity played a mediating role in the association of visual texture discrimination and reading fluency, but not in character reading, in TD children. In contrast, this mediation was absent in DD children, albeit their strengths of RSFC between V1 and the left middle frontal gyrus (LMFG) were comparable to those for the TD group. These findings indicate that typically developing children use the linkage of the RSFC between the V1 and LMFG for visual perception skills, which in turn promote fluent reading; in contrast, children with dyslexia, who had higher TDT thresholds than TD children, could not take advantage of their frontal-occipital connectivity to improve reading fluency abilities. These findings suggest that visual perception plays an important role in reading skills and that children with developmental dyslexia lack the ability to use their frontal-occipital connectivity to link visual perception with reading fluency.

Evaluating a new verbal working memory-balance program: a double-blind, randomized controlled trial study on Iranian children with dyslexia.

BACKGROUND: It is important to improve verbal Working Memory (WM) in reading disability, as it is a key factor in learning. There are commercial verbal WM training programs, which have some short-term effects only on the verbal WM capacity, not reading. However, because of some weaknesses in current verbal WM training programs, researchers suggested designing and developing newly structured programs that particularly target educational functions such as reading skills. In the current double-blind randomized clinical trial study, we designed a new Verbal Working Memory-Balance (VWM-B) program which was carried out using a portable robotic device. The short-term effects of the VWM-B program, on verbal WM capacity, reading skills, and postural control were investigated in Iranian children with developmental dyslexia. RESULTS: The effectiveness of the VWM-B program was compared with the VWM-program as a traditional verbal WM training. In comparison with VWM-program, the participants who received training by the VWM-B program showed superior performance on verbal WM capacity, reading skills, and postural control after a short-term intervention. CONCLUSIONS: We proposed that the automatized postural control resulting from VWM-B training had a positive impact on improving verbal WM capacity and reading ability. Based on the critical role of the cerebellum in automatizing skills, our findings support the cerebellar deficit theory in dyslexia. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This trial was (retrospectively) registered on 8 February 2018 with the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT20171219037953N1).

Commentary: The critical role of oral language deficits in reading disorders: reflections on Snowling and Hulme (2021).

Learning to read is a primary goal of early education, and considerable instructional time is focused on it. Most children respond well to this instruction and soon become accurate and fluent readers. But a small percentage of children find learning to read a significant challenge and often struggle educationally and psychologically as a result. In an earlier review, Snowling and Hulme (2012) argued that weaknesses in oral language development play a causal role in reading disorders such as dyslexia and reading comprehension impairment. They further proposed that these impairments should be recognized as distinct disorders within the DSM-5 classification system. In the current review, Snowling and Hulme (this issue) consider how risk factors at the biological, cognitive, and environmental levels combine to cause reading disorders. Again, they focus particular attention on oral language development and its critical role in reading success/failure.

Annual Research Review: Reading disorders revisited - the critical importance of oral language.

This paper discusses research on reading disorders during the period since their classification within the overarching category of neurodevelopmental disorders (Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 53, 2012, 593). Following a review of the predictors of learning to read across languages, and the role of language skills as critical foundations for literacy, profiles of reading disorders are discussed and putative causal risk factors at the cognitive, biological, and environmental levels of explanation considered. Reading disorders are highly heritable and highly comorbid with disorders of language, attention, and other learning disorders, notably mathematics disorders. The home literacy environment, reflecting gene-environment correlation, is one of several factors that promote reading development and highlight an important target for intervention. The multiple deficit view of dyslexia (Cognition, 101, 2006, 385) suggests that risks accumulate to a diagnostic threshold although categorical diagnoses tend to be unstable. Implications for assessment and intervention are discussed.

"Same, same but different": The optimal viewing position effect in developmental dyslexia, developmental coordination disorder and comorbid disorders.

The optimal viewing position (OVP) effect indicates that words are identified most quickly when the eyes fixate near the word centre in alphabetic languages. In two studies, we tested OVP in typically developing readers and children with developmental dyslexia (DD), developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and with both disorders (DD + DCD), using a variable-viewing-position technique. Study 1 showed that typically developing readers had developed highly automatized procedures of left-to-right attentional scanning resulting in an inverted J-shape VP curve comparable to what is observed in adult readers and that dyslexics showed non-prototypical one. In Study 2, we observed more typical procedures of left-to-right attentional scanning in children with DCD, isolated or comorbid, compared to DD. Moreover, given the absence of significant group differences between children with DD + DCD and children with isolated DD or DCD, our results reinforce the idea that the comorbid condition does not add to the severity of OVP anomalies. We then concluded that OVP atypicalities are specific to children with DD. Finally, we discussed the usefulness of the OVP effect as a clinical tool to identify possible OVP atypicalities that could be specific of some neurodevelopmental disorders (i.e., DD, DCD or DCD + DD).

Anxiety and depression among Chinese children with and without reading disabilities.

This study aims to compare anxiety and depression among male and female Chinese children with and without reading disabilities (RDs) and to examine the diverse impacts of anxiety and depression on children's reading comprehension. A total of 132 Chinese children from third to sixth grade living in Taiwan were recruited; half had RD, and the other half were typically developing children. Our results from the first analysis revealed that the anxiety level of female children with RD was significantly higher than that of the other three groups of participants, while the depression level of typically developing children was significantly lower than that of children with RD in general. Additionally, our results regarding the predictive abilities of gender and anxiety for reading comprehension as well as the moderating effect of gender on the ability of anxiety to predict reading comprehension were all statistically significant for the typically developing group but not the RD group. These differences between these two groups were further confirmed by multi-group analysis. Our results enhance the existing knowledge on Chinese children with RD and can increase practitioners' awareness of the possibility of higher levels of anxious and depressive symptoms among these children.

Reading and spelling disorders in a school-based population screening in Sicily (Italy).

This research was carried out according to the Italian Consensus Conference on Specific Learning Disability guidelines for screening initiatives. It describes a three-year screening project involving 2.469 students, aged 8-15 years, from various classes of primary, lower and upper secondary schools of Sicily. Students were assessed for reading and spelling skills. Overall, 4.9% met the risk criteria for suspected reading disorder, 6.1% for spelling disorder, while 8.5% for both conditions. Results showed that out of 932 pupils in the primary school, 4.6% met the risk criteria for reading disorder and 6.5% for spelling disorder; out of 855 pupils of the lower secondary school, 5.3% for reading disorder and 5.5% for spelling disorder; out of 652 pupils of the upper secondary school, 4.9% for reading disorder and 6.1% for spelling disorder. No significant difference in the prevalence of students at risk of reading disorder or spelling disorder, within the three grade-levels over 3 years, was found. At project conclusion further clinical investigation to verify the screening results on student sub-sample (57%) was carried out. The percentage of students with SLD was equal to 3.15%, in the primary school, 3.76% in the lower secondary school and 2.51%, in the upper secondary school.

The co-occurrence of neurodevelopmental problems in dyslexia.

The primary aim of this study was to explore the overlaps between dyslexia and a range of neurodevelopmental disorders and problems (NDPs), specifically symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, atypical sensory perception and developmental coordination disorder. Capitalizing on a population-based sample of twins, secondary aims included estimating the heritability of dyslexia and reporting on the measurement characteristics of the scale used to assess dyslexia. A telephone interview regarding symptoms of dyslexia and other NDPs was conducted with parents of 1,688 nine-year-old twins. The prevalence and the heritability of dyslexia were estimated at 8 and 52%, respectively. The boy: girl ratio was 1.5:1. Results revealed that there was more than an eight-fold increase in (diagnostic proxy) NDPs prevalence in the dyslexia group as compared to typical readers. Quantitatively measured symptoms of inattention, oral language problems and atypical sensory perception significantly predicted dyslexia status in a multivariate analysis. By contrast, ASD-related inflexibility was inversely associated with dyslexia in the multivariate model. In sum, dyslexia often overlaps with other NDPs. The current study provides new knowledge supporting the position to move beyond isolated diagnostic categories into behavioural profiles of co-occurring problems when trying to understand the pattern of strengths and needs in individuals with dyslexia.

Dyslexia and Developmental Language Disorder: comorbid disorders with distinct effects on reading comprehension.

BACKGROUND: Reading comprehension draws on both decoding and linguistic comprehension, and poor reading comprehension can be the consequence of a deficit in either of these skills. METHODS: Using outcome data from the longitudinal Wellcome Language and Reading Project, we identified three groups of children at age 8 years: children with dyslexia (N = 21) who had deficits in decoding but not oral language, children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD; N = 38) whose decoding skills were in the normal range, and children who met criteria for both dyslexia and DLD (N = 29). RESULTS: All three groups had reading comprehension difficulties at the ages of 8 and 9 years relative to TD controls though those of the children with dyslexia were mild (relative to TD controls, d = 0.51 at age 8, d = 0.60 at age 8); while the most severe problems were found in the comorbid dyslexia + DLD group (d = 1.79 at age 8, d = 2.06 at age 9) those with DLD also had significant difficulties (d = 1.56 at age 8, d = 1.56 at age 9). CONCLUSIONS: These findings confirm that children with dyslexia or DLD are at-risk for reading comprehension difficulties but for different reasons, because of weak decoding in the case of dyslexia or weak oral language skills in the case of DLD. Different forms of intervention are required for these groups of children, targeted to their particular area(s) of weakness.

Reading-writing disorder in children with idiopathic epilepsy.

Several studies have documented learning disabilities (LDs) in subjects with epilepsy, who have been shown to be at greater risk of mild neuropsychological damage, with the consequent risk of academic failure. This retrospective study aimed to investigate the peculiarities of reading and writing disorders in subjects with idiopathic epilepsy. The reading and writing performance of 35 children affected by reading and writing disorders and idiopathic epilepsy (R/WD + E group) has been compared with the performance of 37 children with only reading and writing disorders (R/WD group). A comparison group of 22 typical developing healthy children (TDC group) was also included in the study. As expected, the TDC group reached better performances in the reading and writing tests administered. Between R/WD + E and R/WD groups, there was a substantial analogy in reading and writing disabilities. The differences between the two clinical groups concern writing ability in sentences dictation and verbal and visuospatial short-term memory in digit span and memory-for-location (MFL) tests.

The associations of zinc and GRIN2B genetic polymorphisms with the risk of dyslexia.

BACKGROUND: Zinc is an essential trace element and a number of studies have identified the importance of zinc in neurodevelopment in children. However, epidemiologic data on the associations of zinc and genetic susceptibility with the risk of dyslexia are limited. We aimed to investigate whether genetic polymorphisms in GRIN2B genes modify the association between zinc levels and dyslexia risk. METHODS: A case-control study of 240 dyslexic children and 230 healthy controls was conducted in Wuhan, Hangzhou and Jining city in China from April 2017 to April 2018. Zinc concentrations in urine samples were measured with inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICPMS). Multiple imputation was used to impute missing values of covariates. We applied multivariable logistic regression models to evaluate the effect in the study. RESULTS: After adjustment for potential confounders, we observed the associations of urinary zinc with dyslexia risk were modified by rs1805502 (Pinteraction = 0.048) in gene GRIN2B. About 2-fold increase in creatinine-corrected zinc levels was significantly related to a reduced risk of dyslexia [odds ratio (OR) = 0.53, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.29, 0.95 in rs1805502 mutation carriers]. CONCLUSIONS: The associations between zinc levels and dyslexia risk were modified by polymorphism of rs1805502 in gene GRIN2B.

Prevalence estimates of neurodevelopmental disorders in Japan: A community sample questionnaire study.

AIM: Prevalence estimates of neurodevelopmental disorders have been calculated by questionnaire surveys scored by a single rater, which introduces inherent rater biases. The present study aimed to estimate the prevalence and comorbidity rates of four neurodevelopmental disorders based on both parent and teacher rating scales. METHODS: We performed a community sample survey recruiting 3852 children aged 6 to 9 years. Parents and teachers evaluated clinical conditions in children using questionnaire-style scales. These scales with cut-off values were used to estimate the prevalence and comorbidity rates of attention deficit hyperactive disorder, autism spectrum disorder, specific learning disorder (or developmental dyslexia), and developmental coordination disorder. RESULTS: The prevalence estimates were separately confirmed according to the raters. Some estimates were higher than those in previous studies conducted in other countries. We also found a large disagreement between the parent and teacher rating scores. Moreover, the degree of agreement between two raters varied depending on the severity of the child's clinical condition. CONCLUSION: These estimates are the first findings based on evaluating children by two different raters. The prevalence and comorbidity estimates are informative for researchers and clinicians of pediatric neurology. The disagreements between two different raters raise questions about previous estimates of neurodevelopmental disorders.

Comorbidity of reading disabilities and ADHD: Structural and functional brain characteristics.

Reading disabilities (RD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are two of the most common developmental disorders. RD and ADHD frequently co-occur, which raises questions about how the disorders interact and to what extent they can be differentiated. To date, the underlying neural mechanisms leading to RD-ADHD comorbidity (COM) are not understood. In this study, structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) were combined with comprehensive behavioral testing in order to characterize the behavior, brain structure, and neural correlates of executive function, phonological processing and reading fluency in 60 children with clinical diagnoses of RD, ADHD, or COM, and controls. Whole-brain analyses of variance were performed on cortical thickness values and on the data of the three fMRI tasks to investigate overall group differences. To validate these findings, a region of interest analysis was performed in regions that have previously been shown to exhibit group differences in children with RD or ADHD using the same paradigms. The neuroimaging results demonstrated structural and functional atypicalities for COM in regions that are frequently associated with deficits in children with isolated ADHD or RD. A combination of shared and distinctive brain alterations between the clinical groups was identified, supporting the multiple deficit model for ADHD, RD, and its comorbidity.